Beto (Alberto Trujillo) is a security guard for a gym in Mexico who has an unusual health condition that forces him to resign from his post, even at the discretion of his flirtatious employer (Luly Trueba). Unbeknownst to her, Beto’s illness causes his skin and physical abilities to deteriorate to a gruesome degree unless he injects himself with an embalming fluid concoction. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Bible Quiz
Filmed in a typical documentary fashion, with intimate interviews making up about half of the film, we get a glimpse into the life of Mikayla. She’s a seventeen year old who doesn’t even seem particularly obsessed with memorizing scriptures, but more interested her Bible quiz teammate JP.
Slamdance Film Review: Battery Man
Biba Struja is a 54-year-old Serbian with a special talent, which nobody really knows how to explain. With nothing more than a determined look on his face and pair of metal rods, Struja is able to cook a hot dog, boil water, and even ignite a piece of cloth drenched with lighter fluid. He is “Battery Man.”
… read more
Slamdance Film Review: Diamond On Vinyl
Diamond On Vinyl explores social media in a way that is both interesting and a little bit creepy. The film revolves around a man named Henry (Brian McGuire), who is secretly recording parts of his everyday life, including sex with his fiancé, in an attempt to learn how to have the perfect conversation.
Slamdance Film Review: Josephine and the Roach
The title pretty much sums up the basic storyline of this short: a love story between a woman and a cockroach. Sounds kind of weird, right?
… read more
Slamdance Film Review: The Bitter Buddha
Although he has been doing stand-up comedy for 30 years, Eddie Pepitone is still largely unknown to the general public. But to fellow comedians, he is regarded as one of the best in the business.
Slamdance Film Review: Caterwaul
As with a lot of short films, you are fed bizarre stories with even stranger characters. Caterwaul is no exception. It is the story of an old man who fishes for lobsters off the coast of Massachusetts, but that’s where things get weird.
… read more
Slamdance Film Review: To The Bone
In yet another Slamdance World Premiere, To The Bone brings a glimpse into the difficult lives of migrant farmworkers. Eleven-year-old Valencia (Naomie Feliu), her father (Jaime Alvarez) and her eight-year-old little brother, Marcos (Carlos C. Torres), work long, hard days for next to no pay—just to give their family a chance at a better life—while all Valencia wants is to go home. But will her attempt to do so have unforseen aftereffects that cause more harm than good? … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Big Words
Set against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential election in beautiful Brooklyn, New York, Big Words revolves around three friends who, 15 years ago, were once members of an unsuccessful hip-hop group. John (Dorian Missick), aka Big Words, is a lyrical genius who, perhaps subliminally, expects himself to fail and thus puts success out of his own reach. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Hank and Asha
If you want to get to know somebody who lives far away from you, sending a bunch of short videos back and forth to one another seems like an outdated approach. With so many social media outlets to choose from, it is now longer a pain-in-the-ass to get in touch with friends living anywhere in the world. Hell, even sending a basic email is by far an easier method than shooting, editing, and sending a video to someone, and then waiting for a response.
… read more
Sundance Film Review: Austenland
Directed by BYU grad, SLC local and the co-writer of Napoleon Dynamite, Austenland is big. The jokes are over-the-top, the costumes and set are gaudy, Jennifer Coolidge is practically bursting at the seams in both hilarity and bosom, and the flops, well, they’re pretty big, too. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: The Last Shepherd
Renatol Zuchelli is a very large Italian man wearing a dirty tank top, sporting a scruffy beard, and plodding his way through some remote, green hills in Italy. Your first impression “The Last Shepherd” isn’t much at all. But by the end of this great documentary, you’re view of Zuchelli makes a complete 180-degree turn.
… read more
